Rolla 31 earns “very good number” in MSIP 5

Saturday

Aug 31, 2013 at 5:05 PM

Rolla 31 School District appears to be headed for accreditation, possibily accreditation with distinction again, based on the scores achieved in the fifth version of the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP 5).

R.D. Hohenfeldt

Rolla 31 School District appears to be headed for accreditation, possibily accreditation with distinction again, based on the scores achieved in the fifth version of the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP 5).Among the multiple numbers that will be bandied about, the most important one seems to be this one: 96.1. That's the percent of possible points earned by Rolla 31 in the MSIP 5."That's a very good number," said Craig Hounsom, assistant superintendent/curriculum and instruction.Districts scoring 70 percent and up are accredited, districts scoring 50-69.9 percent are declared to be "provisional" and those with percentages under 50 percent are unaccredited.Districts with percentages of 90 percent above are eligible, too, for accreditation "with distinction," based on "additional criteria as yet to be determined by the Missouri State Board of Education," according to an announcement from the state board.Total number of points possible in MSIP 5 that Rolla 31 could have earned was 140. Rolla students and the district earned 134.5.These points are the results of student achievement on tests in the annual state assessment program, their performance on end-of-course testing and other measurements.In the past, the scores were reported as percentages of students who were proficient, nearing proficiency or showing growth. The scores were broken down by grade levels.For MSIP 5, the student scores have been boiled down to one number for several "standards.""This is the first year they have set it up in this format," Hounsom said.Here's a look at those standards and the Rolla scores.n Standard 1 is a measurement of academic achievement based on student performance on the tests in the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP).Rolla students earned 16 of 16 points in English language arts, 16 of 16 in mathematics, 16 of 16 in science and 8 of 8 in social studies.n Standard 2 is a look at the scores of students in various subgroups: those receiving free/reduced price lunches, racial/ethnic minorities, English language learners and developmentally disabled students with an individual educational plan.Rolla students scored 4 of 4 in the English language arts, 4 of 4 in math, 4 of 4 in science and 2 of 2 in social studies.n Standard 3 looks at the college and career readiness of students and graduates and it is broken down into six areas that are grouped into three.On Standard 3.1-3, a measurement of scores of graduates on ACT, SAT, COMPASS or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery tests and also the district's average composite score on those tests, Rolla received 7.5 of 10 points.On Standard 3.4, a measurement of gradates' achievement on Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Technical Skills Attaintment tests, the district received 9.5 points out of 10.And on Standard 3.5-6, a measurement of graduates who attended post-seceondary education/training or entered the military within six months of graduation or are in occupations for which they received training, Rolla scored 7.5 out of 10.On Standard 4, a measurement of attendance, the Rolla district earned 10 of 10 points.Finally, on Standard 5, a measurement of the graduation rate, the district received 30 of 30 points.These measurements will have no effect on how much money the district receives from the state foundation formula."This is what the state uses to accredit schools," Hounsom said. MSIP 5 is the latest way of measuring school performance. In cities where schools are unaccredited, parents frequently pull their children out of those schools and send them to schools that are accredited.When that happens, metro news organizations are filled with reports about accredited districts being financially stressed by an influx of students from unaccredited districts."A lot of the news you hear about St. Louis education is based on scores from this rating," Hounsom said.

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